What would be the correct sentence from the below two:
- For a second time, in a few months we decided to meet.
OR
- For the second time, in a few months we decided to meet.
Is one of the two incorrect or can they be used interchangeably?
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2It doesn't matter which article you use, but do you mean that they decided then to meet a few months later, or that the decision to meet was made a few months later?– Kate BuntingCommented Nov 2, 2022 at 9:08
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@KateBunting has the logical sense: For the second time in a few months, we decided to meet.– Yosef BaskinCommented Nov 2, 2022 at 13:55
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What's the intended meaning? Did you decide to meet in a few months, and this would be your second meeting? Or did you decide to meet for the second time, and the first time had been just a few months before?– gotube ♦Commented Nov 3, 2022 at 1:58
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@KateBunting, thanks for the comment, the intended meaning was "that the decision to meet was made a few months later"...I have selected the answer below but if you have a different answer or an explanation I am still curious to know.– ChetanCommented Nov 3, 2022 at 8:42
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"A few months later, we decided to meet for a second time" (or "decided for a second time that we should meet"). It's putting the two phrases together that makes your version confusing.– Kate BuntingCommented Nov 3, 2022 at 9:13
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2 Answers
In general, use a/an when you're referring to one thing out of many similar things, and the when you're referring to a specific thing. In your example, you can use either article. There's a very slight difference between them, but it doesn't have a substantial effect on the meaning.
For a second time.....
This suggests there might be other similar second times, or perhaps a third, fourth and fifth time. A second time is one out of many similar times.
For the second time....
There is only one second time, and this is it.
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Thank you for answering this. It clears things up a bit for me.– ChetanCommented Nov 3, 2022 at 8:41
My take on it (disregarding the actual meaning of the example sentences) is that for a second time just means 'again (after one previous occasion)'.
For the second time implies that the speaker knows from a future perspective how many times altogether the event happened, and that this was the second of them.
answered Nov 3, 2022 at 9:21
